former Electrolux site corporate hub
Company to make
former Electrolux site corporate hub
BY MAURA DOWGIN
Staff Writer
EDISON — Victoria Classics hopes to breathe new life into the Electrolux site on Route 27.
The company, also known as Textiles From Europe Inc., is expecting to have about 500 employees working at the site within the next six months, said Joe Cohen, who owns the company with his brother, Toby Cohen, at a press conference held on the site last week.
The Route 27 site, which formerly made Frigidaire air conditioners, will be used for repackaging, relabeling, shipping, receiving and warehousing, he said. The company plans to use 65 percent of the site at first and hopes to expand.
The company makes over 2,000 different items. The largest part of the business is the sale of bedding, Joe Cohen said. The company also manufactures and sells window coverings, throw pillows and other home goods.
Victoria Classics manufactures and sells "ready-made home textiles" to major national and regional retail stores such as J.C. Penney, Bed Bath and Beyond, Burlington Coat Factory, Linens ’n Things and Target.
"We would be shipping to all our customers from this location," Toby Cohen said.
The plan is to have the warehouse facility in full operation by the end of the first quarter of 2004.
There are currently warehouses in Newark, Elizabeth and Woodbridge that will be closing and consolidated into the one Edison warehouse, Joe Cohen said.
No employees will be laid off, he said. The employees will all travel with the company to the Edison location.
The company plans to grow from its current work force of about 200 employees to about 500 full-time permanent employees.
Edison Mayor George A. Spadoro has asked the company to "give special consideration to Edison residents and Middlesex County residents" when hiring employees.
The Cohen brothers started their business together in the early 1980s, Toby Cohen said. They owned some retail stores that sold their home goods. They eventually started selling their goods to other retail stores and no longer own any stores of their own.
The New Jersey Commerce and Economic Growth Commission has said it will try to help Victoria Classics grow and prosper.
"The Edison property is primary real estate. Reuse of the facility is a win-win situation for all parties. The commission will make every effort to see that Victoria Classics has the resources to conduct business efficiently," said Commerce Secretary William Watley
The facility was formerly owned by Electrolux, whose corporate office is in Sweden. Electrolux manufactured room air-conditioners at the site until the company pulled out of Edison in July.
The closing of the Electrolux manufacturing plant caused 500 full-time employees and 700 seasonal employees to lose their jobs, Spadoro said.
"We told [the employees] we would work very hard to attract another employer," Spadoro said.
Victoria Classics will benefit the local employment picture because its employees are all full time, said Gloria Dittman, president of the Edison Chamber of Commerce. Electrolux offered mostly seasonal work.
That the facility was only vacant for a few months shows the desirability of the township and the county, said Carl Spataro, director of the Middlesex County Office of Economic Development.
"While I was disappointed when Electrolux unexpectedly closed this plant over the summer, I knew it was too attractive a site to stay vacant for long," Spadoro said.
The site is a major ratable for the township generating about $800,000 in local taxes per year, according to officials.
"I look forward to a long and productive relationship with Victoria Classics operating its hub right here in Edison," Spadoro said.
Victoria Classics declined comment on the purchase price of the land.